Georgia Logistics Center’s New Director Anticpates Fast-Paced Growth

Ten years ago Georgia didn’t have a comprehensive plan to handle the explosive growth in its transportation systems and its logistics networks, Jannine Miller, the newly appointed director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics, told Global Atlanta.

“We’ve come such a long way in so many ways over the past decade,” she added pointing to the emergence of the Port of Savannah as reputedly the fourth largest and fastest growing port in the U.S., which she was scheduled to tour and to meet with its officials later in the day.

She also mentioned the growing role of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport as a cargo carrier.

Just the day before, Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed announced that for the 17th year in a row, the airport was the world’s busiest with more than 96 million passengers passing through it last year.

“Less well known,” Ms. Miller said is its increasing importance as the 11th busiest cargo airport in the U.S.

As director of the logistics center, she is responsible for facilitating the growth of one of the state’s six strategic industries.

A veteran public servant involved with Georgia’s transportation and logistics networks, she said that she saw her role as a connector for the ever expanding number of players.

“My greatest challenge will be keeping up,” she said of an industry that is composed of a large array of participants including those involved in carrying, warehousing and distributing goods and all of the carriers and technology that goes along with the business.

With her experience as executive director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and as a former senior manager with supply chain financing responsibilities at Home Depot Inc., Ms. Miller should be well suited for her new role as the ultimate connector among the different players.

She also said that it will be up to her to provide “a narrative” of the state’s role as a global logistics center, and that the upcoming Georgia Logistics Summit to be held March 31-April 1 at the Georgia World Congress Center will provide a timely platform to showcase the state’s logistics assets.

Three areas for the industry’s future growth are to be highlighted: perishables, e-commerce and intermodal developments. The summit also will include presentations by senior executives in the industry.

Source: Global Atlanta

Related: Q&A with Jannine Miller, Director of the Georgia Center of Innovation for Logistics